Goal Statement

• To eliminate violence in the schools and around the school setting

Policy/Program Options

• New York State Center for School Safety

A program with a wide array of qualified individuals, ranging from students, parents, teachers, business leaders, law enforcement officers, and more. The goal is "to bring the best methods of improving school safety to every school" and "to ensure that students are focused on meeting the high academic standards rather than on personal safety."^[1]

• Stronger Bonds with Teachers

More and more students wish for stonger bonds with teachers. Students want to feel like the adults who are involved with the school care about them. Work on improving school climate. Individualize discipline...give the student the tools they need to improve instead of just suspending them/expeling them. Listen to what they want/need and follow through it might help. Look at Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986.^[2]

Issue Briefs (local, state, national, global)

• School Violence Prevention - USA 
• School Violence General - USA

Glossary of Terms

• School Violence: Any behavior that violates a school’s educational mission or climate of respect or jeopardizes the intent of the school to be free of aggression against persons or property, drugs, weapons, disruptions, and disorder.

• National School Safety Center: Formed in 1984 to focus national attention on cooperative solutions to problems that disrupt the educational process.

• Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach program: Initiated in 1991 to help local Boys & Girls Clubs build a network of local community representatives to asses their local gang problem, recruit youth (ages 6 to 18) who are at risk of gang membership, and focus efforts and resources on the reduction of gang involvement by providing these at-risk youth with alternative activities.

• Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative: This program seeks to reduce the illegal supply of firearms to juveniles, youth, and adult criminals.

• Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act: Provides support for school- and community-based programs to prevent youth violence and alcohol and other drug use.

• Gun-Free Schools Act: States that any student that brings a weapon to school must be expelled for a period of no less than one year.

• “Zero Tolerance”: The policy or practice of not tolerating undesirable behavior.

• In-School Suspension: Is an alternative setting that removes a student from the classroom for a period of time (a day to weeks), while still allowing students to attend school and complete their work.

• Out of School Suspension: Is suspending a student from school for a period of time (a day to the whole year) and not allowing the student to do their work.

• Alternative School: Is to provide opportunities for students not succeeding in the traditional classroom setting, while keeping the teacher/student ratio to one to ten or less.

• School Resource Officers: Are officers that are hired by the school or work as a police officers in the community and are there to monitor the halls during and a little after school hours.

• Bullying: To treat in an overbearing or intimidating manner. 

Footnotes